Accidental Oil Spills/Leakages

CONTEXT

Ship-related discharges of oil at sea may result from accidental spills or operational discharges.

Accidental spills may occur upon a collision, grounding, fire, or explosion. Although accidents cannot be completely avoided, Fednav has implemented a series of measures, including modifications to the design of its vessels, to limit the risks of accidental spills that may occur when vessels collide or come in distress at sea.

Fednav has a zero-tolerance policy for intentional and illegal disposal of oil at sea.

POLICY

Owned vessels

1. Design and Hull Maintenance: Owned vessels delivered after 1992 have been equipped with double bottom oil fuel tanks located in the centre and aft position of the vessel (away from the outer shell) to reduce the risk of side or forward bottom impact in the event of groundings or collisions.

2. Bunkering Procedures: Bunkering operations are made under the constant watch of a responsible officer to prevent oil pollution from tank overflow during bunkering operations. Bunkering operations are conducted in accordance with shipmanagers’ procedures.

3. Biodegradable lubricating oil: Use of biodegradable lubricating oil in the stern tube when technically feasible, to limit pollution in the event of an accidental outflow of lubricating oil from propulsion equipment.

4. Minimization of risk of human errors through bridge team management, passage planning, training and use of latest electronic navigation technologies: Vessels are required to strictly follow the Collision Regulations and the Principles of Bridge Team Management and to carry proper passage planning as per ship managers’ guidelines. All officers undergo bridge and machinery simulator training as part of the training program. All Fednav-owned vessels are equipped with electronic charts and have access to weather routing information providing updated and real time navigational information.

2. Weather routing information: All vessels within the Fednav fleet (owned and time- chartered) have access to weather routing services with constant updated data and expert route recommendations to minimize the risks of accidents at sea.